There is a lot of confusion about how various structured literacy approaches differ. Many families may have heard of Orton Gillingham or “OG” from schools or teachers, and also Fundations, but what is the difference between Orton-Gillingham and Fundations? The answer is that the differences can be subtle and the student’s experience depends on the setting and the approach of the teacher. Read on to learn more.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is widely recognized as the gold standard for teaching phonics, spelling, and reading to all learners, including those with dyslexia. OG is multisensory, which means by engaging sight, hearing, touch, and movement, students can form strong connections between letters, sounds, and words. Orton-Gillingham lessons are tailored to each student’s unique needs, and each session builds on the skills taught in the last session.
The Fundations program, developed by Wilson Language Training, is an early intervention curriculum rooted in Orton-Gillingham principles. More simply, it falls under the umbrella of Orton-Gillingham, which is more of an approach than a specific program. Fundations is primarily used in classroom settings for younger students, typically in kindergarten through third grade, to provide foundational reading skills to all learners, including those with dyslexia. Fundations, like other OG-based programs, is systematic and multisensory, focusing on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and handwriting.
Orton-Gillingham is ideal for students who need highly personalized, one-on-one instruction, especially if they have significant difficulties with reading and spelling. Fundations is generally suited for younger learners in a classroom setting, as it integrates structured literacy into general education while providing a foundation for early reading success. But Fundations, like so many other OG programs, can absolutely be modified for individual students. Any teacher with Wilson or Fundations training should have a tool-belt of structured literacy methods, and he or she should be much more ready to help any student with reading and spelling challenges.
The reality, though, is that students who are receiving Fundations in the classroom may have a very different experience than individual students receiving one-on-one tutoring with a Fundations-trained tutor. Tutors have the time and flexibility to target each lesson specifically to the students needs and learning style. A skilled tutor may pull activities and techniques from multiple programs in order to precisely meet the student’s needs. I hope this post helps clarify Orton-Gillingham vs. Fundations in terms of their varied approaches to reading and dyslexia tutoring.
If you’re seeking a highly experienced Orton-Gillingham tutor to work with your child online, I hope you will consider me, Joanna Brown, or my colleagues at The Reading Guru. We keep our pricing reasonable and have an excellent team of experienced Orton-Gillingham tutors. To schedule a conversation with The Reading Guru to learn more, click here.
About The Reading Guru
Joanna Brown, founder and CEO of The Reading Guru, is a master Orton-Gillingham reading tutor with more than 15 years of experience providing personalized, one-on-one reading instruction. Joanna earned her M.S. in Elementary Education and Literacy from Bank Street College of Education in New York City in 2011. Joanna is certified by the Center for Effective Reading Instruction (CERI) as a Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist (C-SLDS). She earned this certification through training at the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE) as well as with the digital, multisensory training program, Lexercise. Joanna also has training with the Orton-Gillingham based, multi-sensory program Preventing Academic Failure (PAF). Joanna and her team at The Reading Guru use an individualized, tailored personal approach with students and have consistently achieved outstanding results. For more information about The Reading Guru, click here.
